palani

Palani, also known as Pazhani, is a small city in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated to the north-west of Madurai city, and 67 kilometres (42 mi) from Kodaikanal hill station in Tamil Nadu.

Here are the most popular attractions and things to see and do in the city of Palani:

• Palani Hills
• Varathamanathi Dam
• Kuthiraiyar Dam Falls

Palani has many religious Hindus, as a result of which it has many Hindu temples (most of which are also ancient) such as:

• Palani Murugan Temple
• Idumban Temple
• Arulmigu Dhandayuthapaani Swami Temple
• Periya Nayaki Amman Temple
• Thiru Aavinankudi

Some of the best museums to visit in the city are:

• Government Museum
• Museum of Zoology

The major festivals celebrated by people in Kodaikanal include:

• Pongal – A harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu state, in the month of January.
• Deepavali – The Hindu festival of lights, celebrated in October-November.
• Navaratri – A 9-day Hindu festival, where people worship goddess Durga -falls in the month of October mostly).
• Dussehra – Grand celebration on the 10th day, at the end of Navaratri).
• Miladi Sherif – the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed; a major Muslim festival in south India.
• Christmas – A popular Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Palani has some great shopping spots and markets (where people can shop for clothes, accessories, handicrafts, idols of Gods, and so on) such as:

• Vettri Vel Murugan Stores
• AJ Shopping Center
• Aravindh Commercial Complex

• AMMU Mall – New Ammu mall; a new and modern shopping mall; the one and only one such mall in Palani.

Palani’s food mostly consists of dishes from Tamil Nadu’s cuisine, like staple meals with rice, Sambar, Rasam, Poriyal (dry vegetable curries) and Curd rice; and tiffin items like Vada and Bajji (fritters), Idli (steamed rice cakes), Dosa (rice batter crepes) and filter coffee – a special coffee that is popular all over Tamil Nadu.

Here are some good restaurants in Palani to check out, for local foods as well as foods from other cuisines:

• Hotel Gowri Kkrishna
• Sri Baalaji Bhavan
• Hotel Nalapakam
• Tamizhan Unavagam
• Aaharam Multicuisine Restaurant
• Sri Atchaya Grand

Some of the best places for a comfortable stay at affordable prices and accessible locations within Palani are:

• EdenAPark Lodge
• Ganpat Grand
• Hotel Amirtham Inn
• Divine Fort
• New Tirupur Lodge
• Sara Regency
• Hotel Vels Court
• Sasti Lodge

Palani city STD Code – 04545 (to be used before dialling numbers from a number that is not locally registered).

Common emergency numbers:

• Police – 100
• Fire – 101
• Ambulance – 102
• Disaster Management Services –108

Tamil is the most spoken language in Palani

Tamil:

• What's your name? - Unga peranna?
• My name is - En peru
• Where are you from? - Nienga engirundhu varrienga?
• Congratulations! - Paaraattukkal
• Good night and sweet dreams! - Nalla thoungunga!
• What Is This? - Idhu enna?